in the bat battleground state of ohio, the president leads mitt romney 50 to 45% down from a 10-point lead at the end of september. >> the president created this false image of mitt romney in the minds of some voters knocked down in the first debate. >> reporter: the obama campaign has plenty to be excited about. early voters in ohio favor the president 54-39%. >> if you look at the early voting that's going on around the country, it's very robust and it's very favorable to us and we think that's a better indicator than these public polls which are frankly all over the map. >> reporter: the president also leads among those who say they are going to vote on election day. randall pinkston, cbs news, boca raton, florida. >>> and the latest numbers show the presidential race is a dead heat. a "wall street journal" poll released yesterday showing that president obama and mitt romney are getting support from 47% of likely voters. but among the wider pool of all registered voters obama is ahead 49-44%. you can watch the final presidential debate tonight at 6:00 on cbs 5 and on cbssf.com. >>>